


Yeah, I Showed Up At Your Party

by kittensgabi12



Category: The Haunting of Bly Manor (TV)
Genre: Based on a Taylor Swift Song, Eventual Happy Ending, F/F, Flowers, Fluff, I just love Taylor Swift, Jamie's family owns a flower shop, Romance, Slow Burn, and damie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:08:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27321715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kittensgabi12/pseuds/kittensgabi12
Summary: "But if I just showed up at your party, would you have me? Would you want me?"A Damie fic inspired by Taylor Swift's "folklore"
Relationships: Dani Clayton & Edmund O'Mara, Dani Clayton/Jamie, Jamie & Rebecca Jessel
Comments: 6
Kudos: 48





	1. prologue

**Author's Note:**

> "So, I showed up at your party  
> Yeah, I showed up at your party"

Jamie Taylor sat in her beat-up Jeep, three doors down from Dani Clayton’s house. She stared out her window as she saw countless teens scramble into Dani’s house, most already a little tipsy. Jamie was familiar with the house, considering she had been there so many times before.

So many memories had happened in that house, not all good. This was Dani’s first party she’s hosted. Jamie, being her longer self, hated parties. She was more of an observer, always standing off to the side and taking everything in. And that’s how Dani even caught her eye in the first place. The dirty blonde, always surrounded by a million people. Most of which were guys. They couldn’t get enough of her.

Jamie threw her brown jumper on and stepped outside her car. It was cold for September, as the August heat drifted away. She took a cigarette out of her pocket and lit it, pushing it to her mouth and letting out a puff of smoke. She continued to watch as even more people scurried into Dani’s house. She wondered how they could all even breathe in there. So many bloody people and Jamie hated most of them. She knew Dani’s mother would be furious when she found out what her daughter had done.

There was only one reason she was even at the house in the first place. She needed to make things right. She needed to apologize for what she had done. Out of everything Jamie had done in her life, all those mistakes, this was the worst. She knew that Dani didn’t want her back, not after everything that had happened that summer. All she could think about was how much she missed Dani. Her smile, the way her blonde hair bounced whenever she talked. She missed the way she’d snort whenever she laughed at one of Jamie’s stupid jokes. She missed their connection. But now that connection was broken. Slipped away like a moment in time. It was never hers. So many different scenarios bounced around in her head. Some of those ended well, with new beginnings. Others ended with darkness and tears. They only existed in her head yet Jamie was ready to take her chances.


	2. An Invisible String

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time, wondrous time  
> Gave me the blues and then purple-pink skies  
> And it's cool, baby, with me  
> And isn't it just so pretty to think  
> All along there was some  
> Invisible string  
> Tying you to me?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: Invisible String by Taylor Swift

Looking inside the dirty window of her car, Jamie saw the bouquet of flowers sitting in the passenger seat. Flowers she had grown and picked herself.

She remembered the first time she had received flowers like these from Dani herself. It was the beginning of grade eleven and Dani had just moved from the states to Bly. Why her family would move to an English town in the middle of nowhere was a surprise to Jamie, but not an unwanted one at that. Dani was very friendly with the other girls right away, which was something that Jamie had trouble doing. The strange American made Jamie sick to her stomach. Jamie was a loner and loved to spend most of her time sitting alone reading or working at her mother’s flower shop with her brother. But she couldn’t get that damn American out of her mind. She was strangely fascinated by her.

They got closer the day Dani showed up at her shop in town. Jamie assumed the blonde needed flowers for some stupid reason. A reason she wouldn’t press her on. Why would a girl like her even waste her time at a crummy flower shop like this? Dani had explained to Jamie that the flowers were for a house party her mother was having.

“I hate parties,” The blonde exclaimed with disgust, which made Jamie laugh.

“I thought all Americans loved parties, getting drunk and shite like that.” Dani chuckled and shook her head.

“Not this one.”

After that, Dani would make a habit of visiting the shop twice a week. Never the same two days. Jamie wondered why she even did that in the first place. Maybe it was to keep Jamie on her toes. Maybe it was a way for Dani to make fun of her, to find things to gossip about. There wasn’t a reason for her to visit the shop so often. She’d buy a bouquet of bouvardias one day, and then just a single white rose the next. Jamie was curious as to the reason for these specific purchases, but she never asked Dani for the details. It was probably something personal and Jamie didn’t want to bother with that.  
The visits became more and more frequent. Another day was added to Dani’s now tri-weekly visits, a day to pick up gardening supplies. At this point, Jamie knew she had to question what was going on. Things were getting too peculiar.

Dani was placing a bag of petunias on the counter along with a ceramic pot.

“Blimey, you really are keeping busy eh?” Jamie teased. Dani laughed.

“Oh, it’s really nothing. Just some light gardening.” Jamie gave her a puzzled look.

“No ‘light gardening’ requires the gardener to visit three times a week.”

“You got me there,” Dani chuckled, “I do need this stuff for a… reason.” Jamie folded her hands and leaned onto the counter.

“And what reason is that?”

“It’s probably better if I show you.”

And so, Dani paid for the supplies and Jamie closed up the shop. This excursion probably wouldn’t hinder sales and if her mom asked why the shop was closed, she could pin the blame on her brother.  
The two walked down the cobblestoned street, their hands occasionally brushing which made Jamie’s stomach do a flip. She would look up at Dani now and again to see the blonde smiling back at her. Most times

she just kept her eyes on the pavement ahead of her. She didn’t even know where the American was taking her.

“Are you gonna tell me where you’re strangely taking me?” Jamie finally asked. Dani shook her head.

“That’s the whole surprise, gives a sort of anticipation to it.” The blonde responded. Jamie stifled a laugh. She couldn’t argue with that.

After what felt like forever, the two finally rounded the corner on an older looking manor-type house. Jamie stopped at the entrance and looked up at it. The house looked much different than the flat’s she was used to. Getting lost in her thoughts, Jamie didn’t even notice that Dani was already up the stairs to the entrance.

“You coming?” She asked. Jamie nodded and walked over to join the blonde on the stair landing.

Dani knocked on the door and after a moment of waiting, in awkward silence at that, the door flung open revealing a small girl no older than seven or eight years old.

“Miss Clayton!” The girl squealed, running over to Dani and embracing her in a warm hug.

“Hi Flora!” Dani beamed, reciprocating the hug. When the two parted, Flora looked up at the mysterious gardener.

“And who is this?” The young girl asked. Dani smiled back at her.

“This is Jamie, she’s a friend from school. Her family owns the flower shop in town.”

Something lit up inside Jamie when Dani referred to her as a friend. She didn’t know that mysteriously visiting your family’s flower shop three times a week made them ‘friends’, but she didn’t argue.

“A pleasure.” She said, reaching out her hand to welcome a shake from the young girl. Flora daintily shook back.

“A pleasure to meet you too.” the young girl responded, “You must see the garden in the backyard! It’s just perfectly splendid!”

“Perfectly splendid eh? All right, let’s see it then.”

Flora turned around and started bouncing into the house, which served as an invitation for the two older women to follow her. The house was beautiful on the inside. Dark oak complimented the many portraits up on the wall. Jamie didn’t even know where to look first.

When the trio reached the end of the long hallway that led to the yard, Flora pushed open the large wooden doors. Jamie’s eyes lit up as she saw the landscape of flowers before her. She spotted all the different kinds of plants that Dani had bought from her shop. From tulips to hyacinths, they were all there. Jamie spotted another small boy in the wide array of plants. He appeared to be tending to the weeds.

“Miles!” Flora yelled. “Miss Clayton is here!”

The boy looked up and smiled as he saw Dani. He wiped the dirt from his hands on his trousers and rushed over.

“It’s so great to see you!” Miles exclaimed. He looked up at Jamie. “And who might you be?”

“You can call me Jamie.” The gardner said once again. “One of Dani’s friends from school.”

It felt right to refer to herself as Dani’s friend. Were they truly friends, who knew? But just like Dani had said it before it felt nice to say.

“Well, a friend of Miss Clayton is a friend of mine!” Miles exclaimed cheerily. “As for the garden, I was just taking the time to pull the weeds for you Miss Clayton.”

“That’s so sweet of you Miles! That’s actually why Jamie and I are here in the first place.” Miles raised an eyebrow, as did Jamie. She had seen plenty of gardens before. Why did Dani want to show her this specific one?

“Follow me down the steps!” Flora directed, beckoning for the group to follow her down. The two younger kids bounced down the stone steps, Dani and Jamie following closely behind.

“So this is what you wanted to show me?” Jamie asked. Dani smiled.

“I mean, It’s nothing special. The kids and I take great pride in it.”

“And how do you know these little gremlins?” Jamie had wondered how Dani had come to know the two kids. It wasn’t like she had been in Bly for long.

“I nanny them in my free time,” Dani answered. “They’re really good kids, they just need someone to keep them company. Their family, the Wingrave's, are widely known around her according to them. Their parents passed away recently so they’ve been having trouble being on their own, with their uncle working so often.”  
“Wow, you’re like a real-life Mary Poppins.” Jamie teased. Dani chuckled back.

“I guess so. Kids like attention just as much as kids our age do. Maybe even more.” Jamie couldn’t argue with that.

“All right… Poppins. Let’s see this garden.”

Jamie surveyed a wide variety of plants in front of her. Some had wilted, which is common for any amateur gardener. Other than that, it was pretty impressive.

“You grew these all by yourself?” Dani nodded.

“With help from the kiddos, of course. The plants in your shop really inspired me.” Jamie hoped the blush on her cheeks wasn’t showing. She bent down and inspected one of the violets.

“I could help, you know,” Jamie said, “with the garden.” Dani looked down at her.

“I think the kids would love that! And so would I...” Jamie smiled, the biggest smile she had in a while.

And so, a habit was made. Dani would visit the shop multiple times a week and buy supplies. The two girls would then walk over to the Wingrave’s house. They would spend the afternoons in the garden, Jamie tending to the plants while Dani would serve as her assistant. While keeping an eye on Miles and Flora. This went on for weeks, and Jamie surprisingly enjoyed each second of it.

At the end of the seventh time the two visited the garden together, Jamie was bringing Dani tools that needed to be put back in the shed.

“Hold on a minute! I need to grab something.” Dani told her. She climbed into the large shed and went to get something. Jamie was curious as to what it could be, but she wouldn’t be surprised if Dani had just left her coat or pocketbook somewhere in the shed.

When she emerged, She was holding something behind her back.

“Whatdya got there?” Jamie asked, looking perplexed. Dani whipped around her arm, revealing a beautiful bouquet of roses. Each rose was arranged with care, it looked like a rainbow of colors. Then, it hit Jamie. These were the single white roses she had bought each time she came to the shop.

“They’re for you, as a… thank you,” Dani explained. “For everything you’ve done for me and the kids.” Jamie couldn’t hide the blush on her cheeks. She felt like they were on fire and you could see them cities away.

“Poppins, you didn’t have to do that. It’s really nothing.” Dani shook her head. She grabbed Jamie’s hand and squeezed it in her own.

“Not to me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the exposition-heavy chapter. Wanted to set the background of how the two girls met!

**Author's Note:**

> Kind of made this quickly but had fun writing it! Let me know if I should continue!


End file.
